NORCROSS, Ga., March 3, 2014—Leica Geosystems Inc. announced today that Atlantic has upgraded its ALS60 airborne laser scanner to an ALS70-HP, making Atlantic one of only a few firms in North America to operate two ALS70-HP systems.

With a fleet of five aircraft, Atlantic provides a full-range of airborne remote sensing services supported on the ground by end-to-end geospatial information extraction, surveying and consulting capabilities. On its LiDAR projects, the firm typically conducts both wide-area and corrirodor mapping for federal, state and local government agencies, as well as many private firms. Atlantic currently operates a large format Z/I Imaging DMC (Digital Mapping Camera), and a Leica RCD105 digital camera, which can be co-registered with the ALS70-HP laser scanners. With the latest upgrade, the firm made a conscious decision to exclusively use Leica equipment and software. “We believe there are significant benefits to having compatible and interchangeable equipment,” said Brian Mayfield, President and COO of Atlantic. “The workflows are similar across the board, and the Leica mission planning software is integrated between aerial imagery and LiDAR collection to improve our efficiency. An added advantage is having an Intergraph/Leica tech support facility located nearby in case we have operational or flight planning issues.”

Following the acquisition of the first ALS70-HP scanner in December 2012, Atlantic purchased an ALS60/RCD105 integrated sensor configuration in March 2013. The co-registered photographic and LiDAR data allow for very detailed and accurate information extraction. “Our experience with the ALS70-HP and ALS60 has been very positive with noticeably less rework required,” Mayfield said. “We decided to upgrade to another ALS70-HP because the larger collection capability will help handle our backlog and increase our return on investment. Our large-area mapping work, as well as high density corridor work, will really benefit from the ALS70 design enhancements released in 2013, which improve sensitivity and ability to detect discrete features.”

The Leica ALS70-HP is an affordable airborne laser scanner with a 500 kHz pulse rate capability designed specifically for high-density point collection in diverse environments. The Leica ALS70-HP version was developed for general purpose mapping over a wide variety of terrain at different flying altitudes. The power of the ALS70-HP enables LiDAR missions to collect a higher density of elevation points without flying more lines, saving time and money. Engineering changes in the ALS70-HP system, including a new dual-gain receiver that increases the dynamic range of the sensor, enable the ALS70-HP to consistently detect even very small features, such as ground wires on electric transmission lines, while eliminating signal overload from highly reflective surfaces.

“Leica Geosystems listened to our customers’ needs and responded with advantageous design changes in the ALS70,” said Jean Gardiner, General Manager of Leica Geospatial Solutions. “With two ALS70-HP sensors, Atlantic is well-positioned to leverage its collection of high quality equipment and skilled professionals to expand in the future.”